Marc Guehi's future is looking like turning into another transfer saga this month. The Crystal Palace defender is a man in demand after a stellar European Championships for England.

The 24-year-old defender has been linked with a host of clubs since the summer. Newcastle United's interest was well documented with a series of bids for the centre-half being turned down as Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell identified him as their No.1 transfer target.

That failure to land Guehi led to a lot of angst once the deadline passed. For the second window in a row, Newcastle had failed to sufficiently strengthen their squad with someone who would improve the starting XI. It led to plenty of talk about the relationship between Mitchell, Howe and the recruitment staff with blame cast in a number of areas.

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Guehi, meanwhile, remains hot property despite an indifferent start to the season for the England man and Palace. Perhaps suffering a hangover from his exploits in Germany over the summer, the defender's form dipped. He wasn't helped by Palace selling his centre half partner Joachim Anderson to Fulham, a move that allowed them to fight off any advances for Guehi, but which contributed to them starting the season slowly after a fine end to the previous campaign.

Guehi has regained his form over the last couple of months, however, and is once again being mooted as a potential big signing this month. Chelsea have emerged as the frontrunners for his services, with defensive duo Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile both sidelined and they are keen on bringing Guehi back to Stamford Bridge. He started his career as an academy player at the club before joining Palace for £18m in 2021, and Chelsea retain a sell-on clause as part of the deal which could make it easier - and cheaper - to do.

PSR regulations still complicate any transfers this window, however, and Chelsea are believed to be one of the clubs that could face charges by the Premier League this week over breaching the rules.

And in a further twist, claims over the weekend suggested that Palace are willing to accept a fee much lower than the £65million Newcastle bid for Guehi in the summer. Chairman Steve Parrish, mindful that the player only has 18 months left on his contract and has shown no inclination to extend it, has apparently told sources he could sell his captain for as little as £40m.

That fee is still too much for Newcastle this month. Funds remain tight despite the club's confidence that they are within PSR regulations, and another potential buyer, Liverpool, are now reportedly not interested in Guehi. It means any hopes Palace have of holding out for a bidding war have cooled.

Guehi, however, has told Palace that he doesn't want to leave the club this month. Speaking after their FA Cup win over Stockport County on Sunday, manager Oliver Glasner was optimistic about the south London future of both Guehi and loanee Trevor Chalobah, who has also been linked with a return to Chelsea.

He said: “I know (Chalobah) wants (to stay). I know we want, and so I think yes. We still have (a lot of time) to go in the transfer window. Like always, everything can happen. But when you ask me, I want that we stay together with this squad. I know Trevoh wants to stay, I know Marc wants to stay."

As well as Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle, Premier League big boys Arsenal and Manchester City have also been linked with Guehi. It's a transfer saga that looks set to run for a lot longer yet.